


i've got some honey; you've got the wine

by b1uemoon



Series: baby, just you and i [1]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Celebrity, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Mutual Pining, Secret Relationship (kind of), Slow Burn, also "slow burn" is pretty generous for what this is, annabeth is a famous actress, barely, like it's barely a slow burn, percy is a youtuber, whoops!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-14 21:42:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29178171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/b1uemoon/pseuds/b1uemoon
Summary: Annabeth is an actress in the midst of a meteoric rise to the top. Percy is a somewhat popular YouTuber with a massive crush.Somehow, they find each other.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson
Series: baby, just you and i [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2193141
Comments: 14
Kudos: 118





	1. one

**Author's Note:**

> hey all! i'm really excited for this fic. premise was heavily inspired by kouje's [blueberry eyes](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27536539/chapters/67343911). if you're a member of zukka nation, i can't recommend it enough. 
> 
> title from [i wanna love you](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6te_5Q4-ipg&ab_channel=PureNoiseRecords) by just friends.
> 
> (expect tags to be added as the story progresses.)

> **Checking in With Annabeth Chase**
> 
> _Posted May 11, 2018_
> 
> If you’ve been keeping up with entertainment headlines these past few months, the name “Annabeth Chase” is one you’re probably very familiar with. The 22-year-old actress first gained our collective attention as Athena in “Heaven and Earth,” the record-breaking, mythology-inspired Netflix original series that premiered early this year, and while she may not have won that Emmy she was nominated for, it seems as if she’ll be returning to our screens soon. _[Continue reading.]_

Annabeth sighed deeply as she tossed her keycard on the nightstand and fell backwards into the hotel bed. It had been a long, taxing day of contract negotiations, and she was in desperate need of a stiff drink, a hot bath, and a good night’s sleep. That being said, she couldn’t find it in herself to get up, so lying in bed with her work clothes on would have to do for the time being. 

Eventually, though, staring at the ceiling grew wearisome. Too exhausted to bother with the TV on the wall or unearthing her laptop from her bag, she picked up her phone and tapped the icon for YouTube. 

Scrolling idly through her home page, she was about to switch to TikTok when all of a sudden, something caught her eye. The video was posted by someone named Percy Jackson, featuring the title “my best friend gives me a tattoo” and a thumbnail depicting an extremely nervous-looking guy holding a tattoo gun. While it didn’t look like a video Annabeth would’ve normally chosen for herself, something deep down compelled her to click. Enlarging the video and skipping the ad, she settled in to see what the video was all about.

Her screen was immediately taken up by a stunningly handsome young man. 

“Hey guys!” he said with a grin that made Annabeth’s breath catch in her throat. “I’m Percy Jackson, and today my best buddy is gonna give me a tattoo. Grover, c’mere.” As he began to bicker good-naturedly with the person from the thumbnail, Annabeth felt herself get lost in the video (and Percy, especially). 

The video itself was . . . good. Funny. They were in their friend’s tattoo parlor, a short woman with short black hair who had done all of Percy’s other tattoos. His banter with both of them was cute, Grover’s nerves were endearing, and they all made some pretty decent jokes. Nearly all of it was lost on Annabeth, though, because she couldn’t take her eyes off of _him._

Percy was _stunning_ , to say the very least. His bright, sea-green eyes cut a shocking contrast to his black hair and warm brown skin, which only served to make them stand out further. His striking features, combined with his strong jaw, broad shoulders, and the way his muscles rippled as he took his shirt off left Annabeth’s mouth dry. She would’ve been attracted to him no matter what, but after seeing his easy charisma and unobtrusive-yet-obvious charm, she was just a little bit smitten. 

Twelve minutes later, Percy was showing off the fresh tattoo on his ribs (a dented tin can full of flowers) and smiling widely. 

“It looks great, man!” he said, giving Grover a fist bump. “Very cute. Alright guys, feel free to leave a comment about what you think Grover should tattoo on me next, haha. If you enjoyed this video, please like and subscribe, and I’ll see you all next week!”

As the video ended, Annabeth couldn’t help but wish she had seen more of him. Before she could stop herself, she clicked subscribe.

X

Within the week, she had watched every one of his videos at least once. Deeply curious about him one night, she found herself typing his name into the Google search bar, where it was quickly revealed to her that he had a Twitch channel. Before she could second guess herself, she subscribed. 

_Come on,_ she thought to herself. _I’ll probably never be free during one of his streams anyway._

X

Annabeth was wrong. 

Percy must have also lived on the east coast, because the second she left L.A. and arrived back in New York, his streams began to line up perfectly with her downtime. Three nights a week, he was live from eight to midnight. She got into the habit of coming home from whatever meetings or appearances her manager had booked, assembling dinner, and settling in to watch Percy’s stream. 

Most nights he played video games by himself or with friends, but occasionally, he’d have a much more interactive, Q&A-style conversation with the chat. Annabeth experienced her first of these more casual streams on a Wednesday night, two weeks after her return to Brooklyn.

“Hey guys,” Percy said, greeting the camera with a warm smile. “A lot of you coming in right now . . . looks like the notification just went out. For those of you who don’t know, sometimes I like to take a little break from gaming and just have a conversation with you all. So, uh, what’s up?” 

As he fell into a rhythm of _read a question, answer it, read a question, answer it_ , Annabeth felt herself relax. She wasn’t quite tuning him out, but he eased into a comforting background noise -- that is, until he said something that demanded her attention.

“‘What show am I watching currently?’” he read. “Oh, uh, lately I’ve been rewatching _Heaven and Earth_ on Netflix. Show slaps.” He leaned in to read a response. “‘You’re only watching it because you have a huge crush on Annabeth Chase-’ hey, shut up Piper!” Percy flushed red. Annabeth felt herself do the same.

“Uh, my friend Piper is watching the stream,” he started, once his cheeks had faded from scarlet to a pinker hue. “She’s trying to bully me, but I’ll have you all know that I have a crush on Annabeth Chase, AND I like the show. So suck it, Piper.”

X

Late that night, alone in her bed, Annabeth felt particularly lonely.

It wasn’t an uncommon occurrence. Most of her friends were also in the business, and between filming and press tours, they were frequently scattered all over the world. Considering their busy schedules and any time differences, she had no way of knowing if any of them would pick up their phones if she decided to call. 

His words ringing in her ears and isolation squeezing at her insides, Annabeth opened up Instagram, typed Percy’s name into the search bar, and clicked “Follow back.”


	2. two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yo! finished this chap & it was p short so i figured i may as well upload it now. chapter three shld be up this wed/thurs.

“Holy shit. Grover- Grover, come here, man! Holy _shit_.”

“Huh?” Grover rolled over on the couch, turning bleary eyes to Percy. “What do you want from me?”

“Dude, look who just followed me.” Once Percy showed him the notification, the fog of sleep cleared from Grover’s eyes almost instantly.

“No way. No _fucking_ way.”

X

In the two years since he had started his YouTube career, Percy had experienced a lot of bizarre, seemingly impossible things. He had over 600 thousand followers. He’d made videos boasting view counts between two and three million. Hell, he’d even befriended people on the platform who were once his idols. But this? This was something else entirely.

Annabeth Chase following him on Instagram spoke of a certain . . . widespread appeal that few online content creators ever achieved. (It also meant that the woman he’d had a crush on for the last two years _knew who he was_ , but he was trying to focus exclusively on the business aspect of all of this.) 

In the end, it was Thalia who encouraged him to reach out.

“Come _on_ , Percy,” she told him, following a tortuous week where it seemed like Annabeth following him was the only thing he could talk about. “Either reach out to her and take advantage of the opportunity you won’t _shut up_ about, or stop talking about this.” His cheeks flushed red.

“I- I mean, knowing who I am and wanting to work with me are different, right?” he replied. “Besides, she’s probably in Los Angeles or something-”

“No, dude,” Thalia said. “If you were capable of listening to me, you’d know Piper and Jason are friends with her. They said she lives here. In New York.” 

“Huh,” he said after a long pause. “Uh. Well. I guess I should figure out I’m gonna do.”

“Yeah, probably,” she laughed. “Now chop those onions, or we’re not eating tonight.”

X

Unable to stop thinking about what Thalia had said to him, upon seeing that Annabeth had posted on Instagram the next day, Percy decided to take action.

The image featured Annabeth outdoors in an amber colored field, late afternoon sunlight making her skin glow and her hair turn to gold. Clad in a jacket that went to just above her knee, she held her right arm in front of herself with a fierce-looking owl perched on it. The caption read “thanks to @diangelophoto for the very cool @vanityfair shoot. i named the owl archimedes.” 

Steeling himself with a deep breath, Percy clicked the speech-bubble icon. “are u a disney princess, or did u bring archimedes from home?” he typed, tapping ‘post’ before he could doubt himself.

After only a few minutes of kicking himself and refreshing his feed (although it felt like hours), he received a notification that Annabeth had replied to his comment. “@percyjackson oh yeah we were doing this shoot and then he just showed up. definitely no protective sleeve under the coat or animal wranglers or anything.”

Grinning like an idiot, Percy liked her comment and then fell back on to his bed, clutching his phone to his chest. _Holy shit_ , he thought to himself. _I think I’m in love._

X

Two days later, Percy uploaded a video to his channel called “learning how to use (and breaking) a sous vide machine in one afternoon.” Within two hours, he had received a DM from Annabeth Chase.

**@annabeth.chase**

i liked your new video :) very cute

**@percyjackson**

thanks!

i liked ur entire body of work :)

X

Percy had been keeping a running count. First, Annabeth had followed him. Then, he commented on her post. Next, she DM’ed him. 

Any reasonable adult would have concluded the ball was in Percy’s court, and because wasn’t an idiot, he spent four whole days trying to figure out what he should do or say. Finally, inspiration struck, and he returned to his DMs.

**@percyjackson**

hey! i’ve noticed that it’s getting big rn for actors to start youtube channels

so uh if ur interested in joining the platform im down to collab :)

i promise im not stalking u btw

im friends w piper mclean and jason grace

they mentioned u also live in nyc haha

**@annabeth.chase**

oh that’s awesome haha!

yeah that sounds like fun

we could get coffee and figure out the details?

**@percyjackson**

im in! ****

what borough are u in?

**@annabeth.chase**

brooklyn

**@percyjackson**

no way

i live in bed stuy

**@annabeth.chase**

that’s crazy haha ****

i’m in crown heights

**@percyjackson**

holy shit ****

i can send u the address of a coffee shop i like?

**@annabeth.chase**

ok cool! ****

saturday at 11 work for you?

**@percyjackson**

yea sure! ****

see u then :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks sm for reading!! lmk what you think about the story so far


	3. three

> **Is Annabeth Chase Dating Anyone?**
> 
> _Posted June 25, 2018_
> 
> There are plenty of rumors surrounding the relationship status of actress Annabeth Chase, star of the upcoming film "Atlas." Fortunately for us, there finally seems to be evidence to back said rumors up. Earlier this month, Twitter user @spicysammy posted an image of Chase through a café window where she was sitting across from a stunningly handsome young man and smiling. Other Twitter users quickly identified him as YouTuber Percy Jackson, and after user @percyjackstan posted a clip from a livestream of Jackson saying he had a crush on Chase, the internet went wild with speculation. This past weekend, Jackson posted a video titled “going to the met for the first time (ft. annabeth chase),” in which the pair exhibited charming banter and a wealth of chemistry. Fans continue to speculate… _[continue reading]._

**percy**

met vid j hit 8m views

thanks for all the clout <3

**annabeth**

you’re welcome

just remember: you’re nothing without me. i made you.

**percy**

yea ok 🙄

X

In retrospect, it was kind of surprising that Annabeth hadn’t met Percy earlier. 

Any time one of them mentioned a friend to the other, the acquaintance in question was, more often than not, already known to the both of them. From Percy’s boarding school classmates Piper and Jason (who were probably the only two actors Annabeth had ever worked with who she didn’t hate), to her agent Rachel and manager Reyna (both of whom he had gone to summer camp with), and even her buddy Nico (Percy’s cousin), the Venn diagram of their friend groups was nearly a circle. 

What’s more, Percy seemed determined to introduce her to that small number of his friends she didn’t already know. She found herself invited to movie nights, Mario Kart tournaments, and dinner parties at his apartment week after week. Slowly, those invites turned into her on his doorstep most evenings, takeout in hand. Sometimes Grover would join them, or Percy would have someone else over, but usually, it was just the two of them parked in front of the TV and balancing plates on their laps.

It was one of those nights in early July when Annabeth put down her plate of pad thai and turned to face her companion.

“Hey Percy?” she said, somewhat tentatively.

“Huh? Oh, uh, what’s up?” he asked, not looking up from his drunken noodles.

“I have to leave next week for work,” she replied.

“Aw, okay. For how long?”

“Um . . . a couple months?”

“What?!” Startled, he turned to her. “You’re not gonna be in town for your birthday? What the hell!” 

“Yeah, I mean, I’m missing yours too- that’s not the point. I was wondering if you’d water my plants while I’m gone?”

“I’m on it,” he grinned. “Now let's talk going-away party. I’m thinking Spider-Man themed-”

She sighed and threw a pillow at him. Truth be told, it was all in an attempt to hide her grin.

X

“ _Ugh_ ,” Annabeth groaned, sinking into the couch in her L.A. apartment. “That stupid _ass._ ” She checked the clock. If it was early enough, Percy would definitely still be awake-

It was only 10:40 in New York. _Finally_ , she thought. _One thing’s going right today_. Without a moment’s hesitation, she pulled up his contact and clicked ‘FaceTime.’ It rang three and a half times before he picked up.

“Hey Wise Girl,” he said with a smile, although his eyes betrayed a sense of worry. “Everything okay?” 

“Yeah, Seaweed Brain,” she replied truthfully, something about his face instantly untying the knot in her stomach. “I just- I had a really stressful day at work.”

“Aw, I’m sorry. That sucks,” he said. “Was it that stupid dick Octavian again?”

Annabeth laughed. “Partially. Talking to you is helping, though. How was your day? What are you up to?”

“I’m, uh, I’m streaming right now.”

Annabeth’s cheeks flushed bright red. “Oh god. I’m so sorry, Percy, I completely forgot. Can they- can they hear me?”

“No, don’t worry. I muted and stepped away.”

“Okay. Okay. Well, don’t let me keep you. Thanks for talking to me.”

“Of course,” he said, a soft smile on his face. “Always. Sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah,” she said honestly. “Yeah.”

“Okay. I’ll call you back after the stream ends, got it?”

“Got it. See you soon.” 

X

**alex** _@percyjackstan_

odds the call that made percy pause the stream was from annabeth

**becca** _@bluejellybeans_

_Replying to @percyjackstan_

100% or more. literally no question.

X

**percy**

pipers back in town

shes so mf annoying 

why did u tell her abt mr gills 😤🥵

**annabeth**

who’s mr. gills??

awww wait is that the name of the fish plushie

you can’t prove i told her. she’s very intuitive.

hey, has she said anything about st. barts?

**percy**

no she isnt

no???? what wld she have said abt st barts

**annabeth**

we’re taking you.

the whole squad.

you, me, the graces, piper, grover, frank, hazel, leo, nico, his new bf

rachel and reyna were invited but they said no.

rachel won’t take planes anymore and reyna’s too busy.

**percy**

dude what?????

u can’t

u literally cant thats way too much

**annabeth**

me, piper, and jason are paid way too much.

we’d rather have a bunch of fun with our best friends than just sit on it.

**percy**

🥺

r u sure

**annabeth**

duh.

you guys are covering snacks though.

**percy**

obviously 🙄

X

When Annabeth got off the plane, Percy was waiting at the gate for her with a handmade sign that read ‘Wise Girl.’ Upon seeing him, she felt her heart warm in her chest and picked up the pace -- she wanted to get to him, but she had _always_ hated that cliche of running in the airport towards a loved one.

“Percy,” she laughed, throwing her arms around his neck. “What are you doing here? You didn’t have to come.”

“Of course I did,” he grinned. “Couldn’t let you take an Uber home after three whole months-”

“It wasn’t three months-”

“ _Three whole months_ away! C’mon,” he said, letting go of her waist and grabbing her suitcase. “It’s time to bump some Taylor Swift.”

X

Percy spent the entire drive insisting that she spend the night at his place, so that they could head to the airport the next morning together. “Anna- _beth_ ,” he had whined. “You know I can’t be expected to wake up on time. I need someone to keep me accountable, and I don’t respect Grover’s authority anymore.” (Truth be told, Annabeth had only pretended to concede -- she had missed him dearly and would have jumped at any chance to spend more time with him.)

That night on Percy’s couch, Annabeth got the best night of sleep she had in weeks. 

X

“Annabeth!” 

She looked up to see Piper jogging across the terminal, Jason several steps behind. 

“Hey, Pipes!”

“I missed you, girl,” the younger woman said, brown eyes sparkling with excitement as she pulled Annabeth into a hug. “How are you? Where’s Percy?” 

Annabeth gestured across the room to the line at the McDonald’s kiosk several meters away. “He wanted milkshakes. Why?”

“Didn’t wanna be in earshot,” she said with a mischievous grin. “So . . . did you tell him how you feel yet? Are you guys together?” Annabeth flushed fire-engine red.

“Dude, shut up!” she hissed. “What’s wrong with you?! I don’t- I, um-”

“Hey Pipes!” Percy said, simultaneously startling and saving her from further embarrassment. “When did you guys get here?”

“Just a few minutes ago,” she replied, leaning up to kiss him on the cheek as Jason finally caught up to them.

Deeply grateful for the boys’ timing, Annabeth looked away and took a series of _very_ deep breaths.

X

Within the next 20 minutes, the rest of their friends had made their way to the terminal, quickly setting up an encampment that occupied far too many chairs. Time flew by like that, and before any of them knew it, they were being called to board the plane.

Somehow, Annabeth wound up in the seat next to Percy’s.

X

The resort Piper had picked out was breathtakingly beautiful.

Rich with lush vegetation and surrounded by sparkling blue waters, it looked like it had been plucked straight from the pages of a travel magazine. 

Upon arriving at the three private villas ( _three --_ they really had used up a vast portion of their most recent paychecks), Percy stripped down to his boxers and dove right into the shared pool, before he could even claim a room.

“Come on!” he shouted to the rest of them. “Water’s perfect!”

“Put on a bathing suit, asshole,” Thalia replied, as they began to divide up the villas between them. Percy just laughed impishly and submerged again. He stayed until long after his companions had gone inside, Grover grabbing his suitcase for him and grumbling as he pushed it into a room.

Annabeth was the first to come back outside, Percy swimming up to meet her at the edge of the pool.

“Join me?” he asked, flipping his wet hair out of his face and looking up at her with those big, baby-seal eyes. “Please?”

“Absolutely not,” she retorted, sitting down and dipping her legs into the water. 

Unfortunately for her, Percy wasn’t taking no for an answer. He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her in, laughing as she shrieked in surprise. Despite her initial reticence to join him, once she was in the water, Annabeth found she really didn’t want to let go of where she had wrapped her arms around his neck. Luckily, it seemed that he didn’t want to set her down either.

X

St. Barts passed in a blur of rum, bare skin shining in the sun, late candlelit nights by the pool, and a lot of stupid jokes. It was also chock-full of what Piper called “family togetherness,” during which Annabeth spent a _lot_ of time getting to know her friends better, and while she really loved talking with Hazel, Frank, and Will (the members of the group she was least familiar with), she seemed to always find her way back to Percy.

Sometimes it was spontaneous. She and Nico would be reading in the shade in their pool loungers, when Percy would jog over her and beg her to be his partner in the chicken fight that Leo and Piper had challenged him to, or shout to her from across the villa to settle an argument he was having with Thalia. 

Other times, it seemed . . . comfortable. Practiced. Every night at dinner, she would sit next to him and he would wrap an arm around her. They got into the habit of strolls on the beach every morning. He’d make her a drink without asking what she wanted, but would still manage to bring her exactly what she was in the mood for. She felt herself drawn closer and closer to him, as if she was a magnet and he was a fridge.

Their very last night on the island, they all stayed up as late as they possibly could, making a fire in their outdoor fireplace and piling onto the chairs and couches that surrounded it. 

It turned out they really should have turned in earlier, as they all woke up out there with stiff necks and a fresh coat of dew on their skin. When Annabeth came to, lifting her head from Percy’s shoulder and noticing the warm arm he had wrapped around her waist, her breath caught in her throat. 

_Oh, fuck,_ she thought. _This doesn’t feel like it’s just a crush._

  
  


X

A few days after their return to New York, Percy invited her over for one of their classic solo hangouts, arguing that they hadn’t eaten takeout in his apartment in over a week. That reasoning was pretty difficult to argue with, so Annabeth quickly accepted.

The evening passed much in the same way those nights always did -- she brought Thai food over, they argued about what to watch before settling on _Community,_ and he showed her a bunch of memes on his phone. 

Or at least, it was a typical night together until the very end.

At around eleven, Annabeth stretched and went to stand up. “Percy?” she said, drawing his attention away from Crossy Road. “I have some stuff to get done tomorrow, so I should probably get going.”

“Aw, okay,” he replied, giving her a brief hug and walking her to the door. “Get home safe, Wise Girl. Text me when you get home, yeah?”

“Got it,” she said, hand on the doorknob.

And that . . . was when she did something extremely out of the ordinary. 

“Percy, I-” she began, faltering when no words came.

“What?” he asked, face open and earnest as he locked eyes with her.

Overcome with her feelings for him, she went up on to her tiptoes and kissed him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this is a little on the later side!! i had a lot of schoolwork this week lol. 
> 
> the reason grover didn't go to the airport w percy & annabeth was bc he spent the night at junipers. i didnt know how to insert that in a way that felt natural haha.
> 
> also i want to thank you for your kind comments & words of support! i'm really bad at replying, but plz know i treasure all of them dearly :) let me know what ur thinking and i'll see you some time next week!


	4. four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi all! sorry for the delay in posting this. i wrote what was meant to be chapter 4, & then it was way too short so i combined it w what was meant to be chap 5 & shortened the whole fic by one chap.
> 
> i've been revising (small stuff) as i go along, so if you encounter a minor detail that's unfamiliar, that;s probably why, haha.
> 
> thanks so much for your patience!

Percy stood there, frozen in shock. It was one thing to be kissed by a pretty girl without warning, but another thing entirely when the girl in question was your best friend and celebrity crush. 

“Uh . . .” he began, unable to say anything else. 

“Oh, god,” Annabeth said, cheeks flushing scarlet and eyes welling up with tears. “Percy, I’m- I’m so, _so_ sorry.” 

And with that, she was gone. 

X

“Fuck,” Percy said, once he had processed what had just happened. “Fuck. Annabeth? Annabeth!” He leaned out into the hall, but she was already gone. Panic began to seize him. 

“God damn it,” he said, pulling out his phone and dialing her number. It went right to voicemail. He hung up. “Oh, shit.” Head spinning to the point of dizziness, he sat down heavily on the sofa and buried his face in his hands. 

Reeling with the knowledge that he had just ruined any sort of potential or existing relationship with the person who he was convinced was the love of his life, Percy stayed there, motionless, for several minutes. 

At first, his thoughts were only of self-deprecation ( _You stupid, stupid ass!_ ), but they eventually turned to strategies on how to rectify this colossal fuck-up. Lost in thought, he looked up from his hands, which is where he saw . . . _it_. 

The key Annabeth had given him to her place before she last left for L.A., lying on his coffee table. He had put it there as a reminder to himself to return it, but now he couldn’t thank himself enough for forgetting. He grabbed it and sprinted out of his apartment.

X

Upon reaching the lobby, Percy noted that the combination of construction on his street and the cold rain that was beginning to fall heavily, traffic was nightmarish. So without giving it a second thought, he began to run.

The flat soles of his Vans thudded against the pavement, sending shocks through his legs and quickly making his feet sore. He found it extremely difficult to care. 

What was normally a 13-minute walk to her apartment turned into a 7-minute sprint, leaving his chest heaving and lungs aching. Panting hard, he came to a stop in front of her building. Her doorman Bill looked him up and down.

“Hey, Percy,” he said. “Been a while. You doing okay?”

“Yeah,” he replied with a somewhat unconvincing smile. “Yeah. I just. Uh. Have to give something to Annabeth.” Quirking an eyebrow in disbelief, Bill pulled the door open and gestured for him to enter.

X

Percy was deeply grateful to be the only person in the elevator, as his pacing would’ve been decidedly impeded by anyone else’s presence. It took a grand total of four minutes for the elevator to reach Annabeth’s floor, but as far as he was concerned, it felt like four lifetimes.

Finally, _finally_ , the doors opened with a chime and it took every crumb of self-control he possessed to walk instead of run down the hall to her door. Steeling himself with one final deep breath, he stopped at her place and turned the key in lock.

“Annabeth?” he said, stepping inside tentatively. The living room was dark and empty, seeds of concern beginning to sow themselves in his stomach as he moved through it. “Annabeth? You okay?” Noticing her bedroom door was ajar, he knocked once before entering the room.

She was curled up in her bed, facing the door and lit entirely by the glow of the streetlamps that filtered in through the window. Even through the low light, he could see her blotchy red cheeks and wet eyes. 

“Percy?” she asked, voice very small. “What are you doing here? Oh god, you’re soaking wet-”

“Annabeth,” he interrupted, falling to his knees in front of her. “Why did you leave?”

“Because I fucked up. I ruined our friendship,” she said, eyes welling up again. “I’m so, so sorry, Percy.”

“Annabeth.” He reached up and placed a hand on her left cheek, brushing away a stray tear with his thumb. “You could never ruin what we have.”

And with that, he leaned in and kissed her very, very gently.

X

The rest of the night passed in a giggly, love-drunk haze -- they kissed some more, they talked, she followed him into a warm shower, and then they fell into bed, arms wrapped tightly around each other.

X

The following morning, Percy sent a text to their friend group’s text chain. It consisted of a mirror selfie (in which he sat on her bed in nothing but a pair of sweatpants, her arms wrapped around his neck as she kneeled behind him, his shirt dangling off her frame as they wore equally besotted grins) with the message “turns out my feelings weren’t as unrequited as i thought. who would’ve guessed.” Their friends kindly replied with eleven variations of “we did, idiots.”

X

They spent three days holed up in her apartment like that, leaving only to pick up food from restaurants within a three-block radius. Unfortunately, though, the outside world didn’t seem to have any regard for their recent, life-altering realizations, so come Monday, Percy left for his place in order to get some work done. 

Before he had even crossed the threshold out of her building, she had texted him.

**annabeth**

i miss you.

seaweed brain

come back! right now.

**percy**

oh ok omw

i miss u too

come over tonight? ill make dinner

**annabeth**

ofc ❤️

**percy**

cant wait 💖💘💞💓💗

X

That night, Percy looked up to where Annabeth was sitting across from him on his balcony. She was wrapped up in one of his sweatshirts (after she had showed up without a jacket in what was an extremely obvious ploy to steal his clothes), cold air turning her cheeks a rosy pink as she laughed at him.

Before he could stop himself, it just came tumbling out of his mouth. “I love you,” he told her, smiling. “Or, I’m in love with you, I should say. Of course I love you.” She looked shocked for just a fraction of a second, before flashing him a warm, private smile.

“You know, if you were anyone else, I’d be pretty freaked out hearing you tell me you were in love with me after only three days of dating,” she said. “But you’re . . . you, and we’re us, so I’m not. I’m in love with you, Percy. I love you.”

Incapable of restraining his joy, he leaned across the small iron table and pressed a kiss to her lips. (It was more two wide smiles pressed together than anything else.)

X

**alex** _@percyjackstan_

every time i see a new picture of percy and annabeth just in the same ROOM five years get added to my lifespan

X

Two weeks into dating, they still hadn’t had a conversation about going public with their relationship. Percy didn’t want to have to be the one to broach the topic, but one night in his bed, her head on his chest and his hand in her hair, it slipped out before he could stop himself.

“Hey, Annabeth?” he asked. She made a soft noise of acknowledgement directed more towards his skin than anything else. “What do you want to do about- uh, about telling people about us?” 

“I love you,” she said after a moment. “And . . . I want everyone to know that. But at the same time, it feels like my love life is all anyone ever wants to talk about. I think- I think I want to wait for a little longer. Maybe while I’m between projects?”

“Got it,” he said, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “I love you.”

“I love you too. Seaweed Brain.”

X

Five-and-a-half months into a honeymoon phase that looked like it was never going to end, Annabeth was called back to L.A. for press for _Atlas._

So Percy packed her a backpack full of his clothes, downloaded a few travel playlists to her phone, and drove her to the airport in a rental car. 

“I love you,” he said, live parked in the drop-off line. “Keep me updated?”

“Of course,” she said. “I’ll see you soon?’

“Definitely.”

“I love you.” With that, she gave him a few lingering kisses, climbed out of the car, and gave him a little wave right before she entered the building.

Before he even got back on the highway, his phone dinged with an incoming text.

**annabeth**

i miss you already.

seaweed brain ❤️

X

She picked up his FaceTime call within two rings.

“Ugh,” she groaned. “It’s too early.”

“Mornin,’ sunshine!” he laughed. “What time is it over there?”

“Mm. Four?” 

Annabeth’s makeup-artist-and-hair-stylist-extraordinaire Silena leaned over her shoulder and waved at the camera. “Hi Percy!” she said cheerfully. “It’s six thirty.”

“Feels like four,” Annabeth grumbled, taking a long pull of coffee. As they talked, he minimized FaceTime and opened the Messages app, writing out a message to her assistant. 

**percy**

hey dude!

would u be down to help me surprise annabeth?

**malcolm**

Yeah for sure

What are you thinking?

X

**alex** _@percyjackstan_

this is the cutest thing ive ever seen. i literally want to combust. jesus christ.

_[attached: 1 image]_

_Image description: A screenshot of Percy Jackson’s Instagram story, depicting a screenshot of a FaceTime call. His face is small in the corner, while Annabeth Chase sits at a vanity, a hair stylist behind her. Percy is grinning, while Annabeth has a look of mock-irritation on her face and the stylist is laughing._

X

**annabeth**

i miss you

work is stupid.

**percy**

haha aw im sorry

i miss u too

u at least done for the day?

**annabeth**

yeah, thank god

just getting home now.

From his place on the sofa, Percy grinned and wiped his sweaty palms on his thighs. Hearing footsteps approaching and then a key turning in the lock, his excitement threatened to consume him entirely. 

“Surprise!” he shouted, as Annabeth opened the door to her L.A. apartment.

X

“Hey Percy?” she said as they lay in bed that night, idly tracing the dark ink that littered his chest. 

“Hm?” he responded, half asleep.

“Be my date to the premiere next month?”

He smiled widely. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

X

**percy jackson ✓** _@percyjackson_

new video out now! 

_[attached: going surfing with piper and teaching loser blondes (ft. annabeth chase, jason grace, and piper mclean), youtube.com]_

**alex** _@percyjackstan_

_Replying to @percyjackson_

my skin is clear. my crops are watered. thank u for this.

X

From what Percy could tell, literally every person who had interviewed Annabeth on her _Atlas_ press tour had asked her about him.

“I’m really sorry,” he said, holding her as they cuddled on the couch one evening. “So much for keeping people focused on your art, huh?”

“Shut up, Seaweed Brain,” she laughed, hitting his chest. He just smiled into her hair and pulled her closer. 

X

They were driving up a winding stretch of highway overlooking the sea, en route to Big Sur the week before the premiere when Reyna gave her the call.

“What’s up, Rey?” she asked, Percy turning the music down and looking over from the driver’s seat.

“Hey Annabeth. Would you be interested in hosting Saturday Night Live in three weeks?”

X

When he first saw Annabeth in her dress, Percy was tempted to cancel on his first-ever red carpet movie premiere, throw her over his shoulder, and march straight back into the bedroom.

Unfortunately, Reyna would’ve flayed them both alive for skipping, he settled for touching her _everywhere_ he could in the back of the limo.

“Hey, cool it, Seaweed Brain,” she laughed, pushing his hand off her thigh playfully.

“But Annabeth,” he pouted, wrapping an arm around her. “You look so hot.” 

“So do you, dumbass,” she said, eyeing him up and down. “But _I_ have self control.” She attempted to sit up, mock-dignified, but that illusion was quickly ruined when he began to tickle her sides. 

X

Lying in bed that night, blue light of his phone screen reflecting off of Annabeth's golden hair, he identified his favorite image of the two of them on the red carpet, saved it, and opened Instagram.

He posted it without bothering to make any edits, captioning the picture “cool night w my talented bestie. go see atlas @annabeth.chase”

X

**alex** _@percyjackstan_

Un-Follow Me Now, This Is Gonna Be The Only Thing I Tweet About For The Next Week. Ive Wanted This For Years Fuck. What The Fuck.

_[attached: one image]_

_Image description: A screenshot of Annabeth’s Instagram story. It’s a mirror selfie taken while sitting at a dressing room vanity. Percy is smiling in the background. There’s a location tag that reads “30 Rockefeller Plaza” and text that reads “dummy wanted to be backstage for snl 🙄”_

X

“I’m proud of you,” he told her, as they walked from the subway station to his apartment. “I am. I don’t think I tell you that enough.” 

Her cheeks turned pink. “Percy . . . thank you.” 

“Duh,” he said with a grin, pulling her into his side for just a moment. It was a risk every time they showed affection in public (as even images of them touching in _completely platonic_ ways fed the inferno of rumors), but it was nearing 5:00 am and there weren’t many sober pedestrians nearby. They were turning onto his block when an idea struck him.

“Hey,” he said, pulling open the lobby door for her. “Let me treat you. Show you how proud I am.”

“Oh yeah?” she asked, raising an eyebrow suggestively. “What do you have in mind?” 

He laughed and gave her shoulder a shove. “Not like that, perv. You don’t have any work for a while, right?”

“Reyna scheduled me, like, two weeks off. Why?”

“No reason . . . Cool if we head to your place to pack you a suitcase tomorrow?”

X

It wasn’t until she had the boarding pass in her hand that he told her where they were going.

“Santorini!” he said excitedly.

She laughed. “You’re ridiculous.”

“Yeah, says the girl who took eleven of her closest friends to St. Barts,” he replied with an eye roll. He got a shove for his efforts, but Annabeth’s smile betrayed her aggravation.

X

_Instagram user @percyjackson has made a new post._

**@percyjackson** greek vacation is the customary 8mo anniversary gift, yea?

_[Image description: Percy and Annabeth are standing on a balcony overlooking cliffs and a sparkling blue sea. They’re both wearing bathing suits, her in a white bikini and him in navy blue trunks and an unbuttoned Hawaiian shirt. His arms are wrapped around her and they’re both beaming widely.]_

**@mcleanpiper** annabeth break up with percy and date me instead challenge :) 

**@percyjackson** _replying to @mcleanpiper_ everybody wanna steal my girl >:(

**@annabeth.chase** you better outdo this for nine 🙄

**@gunderwood** we’ve been friends for thirteen years . . . where’s MY greek vacation?

_[Click to view more comments.]_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chap was def more a series of vignettes than anything else . . . i hope u like it ok bc final chapter is prolly gonna be similar haha. also dont expect final chap to be super long?? it's looking like it's gonna be. like. a pseudo-epilogue. 
> 
> let me know what ur thinking & feeling! ur comments all get read & i put them in the trophy hall of my brain & polish them lovingly every day <3

**Author's Note:**

> hope you enjoyed :) think i'll try to update every wednesday/thursday for the next five weeks. plz lmk what you think so far!!


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